Went
to see Black Panther on Sunday. I had bought tickets in advance which was a
good thing because shows were selling out. Even with advance tickets, we still
did not get there early enough to get good seats. We were on the 2nd
row so it meant looking straight up at the screen.
Basically,
this movie rocks! Black Panther is strong with the Marvel Studios force with all
the action, adventure, humor and drama we’ve come to expect from the MCU. But
Black Panther is something unique in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with a depth
of storytelling we’ve not seen before.
First
of there is a sense of legacy and history. Other debut solo films in the MCU
are at the start of something. Black Panther is built on a legacy. T’Challa is the new king of Wakanda and the latest
beneficiary of the powers of the Black Panther. King T’Challa has to forge his
path as the ruler of Wakanda while building on the foundations built by his
father and the Black Panthers that have come before. Unfortunately for the high
esteem T’Challa held for his father, King T'Chaka, there are actions and decisions made by
his father that negatively impact Wakanda in the present.
In 1992, King T'Chaka travels to Oakland, California, to visit his brother, N'Jobu, who is working underocver. Black market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue had infiltrated Wakanda and stolen vibranium. T'Chaka accuses N'Jobu of assisting him. N'Jobu's friend reveals himself to be Zuri, another undercover Wakandan, who confirms T'Chaka's suspicions. N'Jobu planned to share Wakanda's technology with people of African descent around the world to help them conquer their oppressors. As T'Chaka arrested N'Jobu, N'Jobu attacked Zuri, forcing T'Chaka to kill him. They left behind N'Jobu's son, Erik, as returning with him would complicate their lie that N'Jobu had disappeared. Erik would eventually grow into a U.S. black ops soldier, earning the name "Killmonger".
Killmonger, having defeated T’Challa, sits upon the throne of Wakanda and begins to distribute shipments of Wakandan weapons to operatives around the world.
What’s interesting about Killmonger as a villain is that he’s not completely wrong. Yes, he’s brash and uncouth with no regard for protocol or tradition but his questions have power: Has Wakanda been right to keep its true identity a secret not just from the rest of the world but especially from those who have most needed their help?
T’Challa manages to reclaim his position and power as Black Panther but he knows he can’t keep Wakanda apart from the world.
There is a lot at stake in Black Panther. T’Challa’s destiny as a king and his very life are on the line as is the future of Wakanda and with it, the fate of the world. It’s all wrapped up in political intrigue and dark personal secrets. There is a lot to take in and a lot to think about.
Black Panther delivers the solid core of what we expect from an entertaining Marvel movie but it is a film of incredible depth and heart.
The cast of this film is incredibly strong. Right at the top, Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther is a person with a deep nobility but with a very human heart. He has a sense of humor along with a sense of duty. He’s not a perfect person but he’s trying his damndest to be.
On the other side of T’Challa, Michael B. Jordan as Erik "Killmonger" Stevens delivers what Marvel movies tend to lack, a truly engaging and fully realized villain. The lessons of his life have left him with a great deal of anger he has focused into becoming a virtually unstoppable killing machine. But for all his rage, he is methodical, plotting step by step to return to the homeland of his father and claim the throne of wakanda that he sees as his birthright and to use its gifts to reshape the world into his vision.
What is particularly extraordinary is the cast of women in Black Panther. If the movie has a strong message regarding race, it has an equally important one for gender equality.
Lupita Nyong'o is Nakia, T'Challa's former lover and an undercover spy for Wakanda. Nakia still has affection for T’Challa but she is no mere “former girlfriend” but is a strong, tenacious fighter with a powerful drive to help others.
While Nakia works outside Wkanda, Danai Gurira as Okoye is a powerful presence inside the kingdom. She serves as
the head of the Dora Milaje, the all-female special forces of Wakanda, T'Challa's bodyguards. Okoye is very stoic and fiercely loyal to the throne and to her country but she has her flashes of humanity like her ribbing T’Challa’s fighting skills or her awkwardness wearing a wig and a dress in her undercover mission to South Korea.
And we can’t over look Letitia Wright as Shuri who almost steals the movie. Shuri is T’Challa's sister who designs new technology for the country. She is brilliant, innovative and enjoys the hell out creating new inventions. Think Tony Stark but less insufferably arrogant and possibly a bit smarter.
In 1992, King T'Chaka travels to Oakland, California, to visit his brother, N'Jobu, who is working underocver. Black market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue had infiltrated Wakanda and stolen vibranium. T'Chaka accuses N'Jobu of assisting him. N'Jobu's friend reveals himself to be Zuri, another undercover Wakandan, who confirms T'Chaka's suspicions. N'Jobu planned to share Wakanda's technology with people of African descent around the world to help them conquer their oppressors. As T'Chaka arrested N'Jobu, N'Jobu attacked Zuri, forcing T'Chaka to kill him. They left behind N'Jobu's son, Erik, as returning with him would complicate their lie that N'Jobu had disappeared. Erik would eventually grow into a U.S. black ops soldier, earning the name "Killmonger".
Killmonger, having defeated T’Challa, sits upon the throne of Wakanda and begins to distribute shipments of Wakandan weapons to operatives around the world.
What’s interesting about Killmonger as a villain is that he’s not completely wrong. Yes, he’s brash and uncouth with no regard for protocol or tradition but his questions have power: Has Wakanda been right to keep its true identity a secret not just from the rest of the world but especially from those who have most needed their help?
T’Challa manages to reclaim his position and power as Black Panther but he knows he can’t keep Wakanda apart from the world.
There is a lot at stake in Black Panther. T’Challa’s destiny as a king and his very life are on the line as is the future of Wakanda and with it, the fate of the world. It’s all wrapped up in political intrigue and dark personal secrets. There is a lot to take in and a lot to think about.
Black Panther delivers the solid core of what we expect from an entertaining Marvel movie but it is a film of incredible depth and heart.
The cast of this film is incredibly strong. Right at the top, Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa / Black Panther is a person with a deep nobility but with a very human heart. He has a sense of humor along with a sense of duty. He’s not a perfect person but he’s trying his damndest to be.
On the other side of T’Challa, Michael B. Jordan as Erik "Killmonger" Stevens delivers what Marvel movies tend to lack, a truly engaging and fully realized villain. The lessons of his life have left him with a great deal of anger he has focused into becoming a virtually unstoppable killing machine. But for all his rage, he is methodical, plotting step by step to return to the homeland of his father and claim the throne of wakanda that he sees as his birthright and to use its gifts to reshape the world into his vision.
What is particularly extraordinary is the cast of women in Black Panther. If the movie has a strong message regarding race, it has an equally important one for gender equality.
Lupita Nyong'o is Nakia, T'Challa's former lover and an undercover spy for Wakanda. Nakia still has affection for T’Challa but she is no mere “former girlfriend” but is a strong, tenacious fighter with a powerful drive to help others.
While Nakia works outside Wkanda, Danai Gurira as Okoye is a powerful presence inside the kingdom. She serves as
the head of the Dora Milaje, the all-female special forces of Wakanda, T'Challa's bodyguards. Okoye is very stoic and fiercely loyal to the throne and to her country but she has her flashes of humanity like her ribbing T’Challa’s fighting skills or her awkwardness wearing a wig and a dress in her undercover mission to South Korea.
And we can’t over look Letitia Wright as Shuri who almost steals the movie. Shuri is T’Challa's sister who designs new technology for the country. She is brilliant, innovative and enjoys the hell out creating new inventions. Think Tony Stark but less insufferably arrogant and possibly a bit smarter.
Martin
Freeman shows up as Everett K. Ross, a CIA agent who finds himself in Wakanda,
who is totally gpobsmakced by the futuristic society that’s existing unseen by
the rest of the planet. Still, he steps up to help to save T’Challa and fight
for Wakanda. In the comics, Ross is more comic relief but here is a capable
agent. There is humor in Ross’s “fish out of water” perspective but not at the
expense of his character.
Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue is a major piece of work. Klaue is a criminal psychopath with a sonic disruptor arm-cannon and a song in his heart. And he’s an evil vicious murderer. Klaue could be the MCU’s version of the Joker.
I could go on but the thing is, there is a hardly a misstep in the story or the acting in this movie. OK, the final knockdown drag out fight between T’Challa and Killmonger is a bit muddled but that’s the risk of two characters in dark body suits fighting in dim lighting. Really, this film holds together, as tight as a drum. I would place Black Panther at or at least very near the top as Marvel Studios’ highest quality production.
Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue is a major piece of work. Klaue is a criminal psychopath with a sonic disruptor arm-cannon and a song in his heart. And he’s an evil vicious murderer. Klaue could be the MCU’s version of the Joker.
I could go on but the thing is, there is a hardly a misstep in the story or the acting in this movie. OK, the final knockdown drag out fight between T’Challa and Killmonger is a bit muddled but that’s the risk of two characters in dark body suits fighting in dim lighting. Really, this film holds together, as tight as a drum. I would place Black Panther at or at least very near the top as Marvel Studios’ highest quality production.
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